Funding troubles ground Jackson Airshow just short of 50th anniversary

A string of 49 years of wowing aviation fans with aerials acrobatics and the flying skills of some of the best aircraft pilots anywhere has ended with cancellation of Jackson’s May Airshow.

The Jackson Municipal Airport Authority said funding problems, chiefly the federal fiscal sequester that began March 1, has forced cancellation of what would have been the Airshow’s 50th anniversary. The show was to be held May 11-12.

The Airshow, which was to feature the Navy’s Blue Angels, the Army Special Forces “Black Daggers” and other military and civilian demonstrations and educational exhibits, has been cancelled. Uncertainty surrounding the continued impacts of the federal budget sequestration requirements, availability of support from the various participants, and other funding issues, on the local and national level, led to the cancellation, said Dirk Vanderleest, CEO of the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority.

“In consideration of the amount of time, effort, funding and community support that JMAA relies on to provide an event of this caliber, we have chosen to cancel this year’s Airshow,” he said.